The disclosure that powers 'guru tracking'
Since 1975, institutional investment managers holding over $100 million in qualifying US securities have been required to file Form 13F with the SEC within 45 days after each quarter ends. That single rule is why anyone can see what Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, or Ray Dalio's Bridgewater held — for free, from the primary source. It's the raw material behind our entire Follow the Rich section.
What's actually in a 13F
Long positions in US-listed stocks, ETFs, certain convertible notes, and listed options — reported by issuer, share count, and market value as of quarter-end. Filed up to 45 days later. That lag matters: the portfolio you're reading is a photograph taken at least six weeks ago, and the manager may have traded since.
What's NOT in a 13F — the part most people miss
Short positions (never disclosed), cash levels, bonds, non-US-listed holdings, private investments, and real assets. This creates real distortions: a manager's 13F might show only the US equity sleeve of a much larger book — Seth Klarman's Baupost is a textbook example, where the filing shows several billion in US stocks while most of the firm's assets (credit, private deals, cash) never appear (Seth Klarman profile). Mohnish Pabrai's filing famously shows just a handful of US names while most of his fund sits in international stocks that aren't reportable (Mohnish Pabrai profile). And options reporting shows the value of underlying shares, not premium paid — Michael Burry's famous final filing listed Palantir and Nvidia PUTS whose headline numbers reflected the shares they covered, not what he spent (Michael Burry profile).
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How to read one like an analyst
(1) Compare quarter over quarter — single filings are snapshots; the CHANGES are the story (new stakes, exits, big adds and trims — exactly what our tracker pages compute). (2) Weight by conviction: a 15% position says more than forty 0.5% positions; concentration is a message. (3) Know the filer's style before interpreting — an index-heavy quant's 993 positions (Ray Dalio profile) mean something different than Pabrai's three. (4) Respect the lag — never assume a 13F position still exists at today's prices. (5) Go to the source: filings live free on SEC EDGAR; every profile on this site links the actual filing it was built from.
Why follow them at all?
Not to copy trades blindly — the lag and missing context make that dangerous. The value is education: watching how disciplined capital allocators construct portfolios, size positions, enter and exit — with real money, over real years. It's a free apprenticeship, updated four times a year.
FAQ
When do 13Fs come out?
Deadlines fall ~45 days after quarter-end — mid-February, mid-May, mid-August, mid-November are the big weeks.
Do all famous investors file?
Only managers over the $100M threshold with qualifying securities — and managers who close to outside money and drop below thresholds can stop; Burry's Scion deregistered entirely in 2025, ending its filings.
Can filings be confidential?
Managers can request confidential treatment for positions being accumulated; approved omissions appear in later amendments.
Ready to use them? Browse our Follow the Rich tracker for the latest quarter's holdings across the ten managers we cover, or read the companion brief on tracking congressional trades.
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